---
title: Delete Protection
description: Prevents an resource from being deleted when enabled.
---

# Delete Protection

Delete Protection is a safety feature that prevents accidental deletion of a resource. When enabled, it blocks all deletion attempts through both the dashboard and API.

## Overview

**Delete Protection** adds an extra layer of security by:

- Preventing accidental deletion of critical resources
- Requiring explicit confirmation to disable protection
- Blocking deletion attempts through both UI and API

## Supported Resources

Currently, Delete Protection is available for:

- APIs: Protect your API configurations and settings from accidental deletion

More resources will be added in future updates.


## Enabling API Delete Protection

1. Navigate to your API settings in the dashboard
2. Click "Enable Delete Protection"
3. Type the API name to confirm
4. Click "Enable API Delete Protection" to add protection

<Frame caption="Delete Protection">
<img src="/images/delete-protection.png" alt="Delete Protection confirmation dialog showing the Enable API Delete Protection button"/>
</Frame>

Once enabled, the API cannot be deleted until protection is explicitly disabled.

## Disabling API Delete Protection

1. Navigate to your API settings in the dashboard
2. Click "Disable Delete Protection"
3. Type the API name to confirm
4. Click "Disable API Delete Protection" to remove protection

## Resource Behavior

When Delete Protection is enabled:

- All deletion attempts are blocked
- The resource returns a `DELETE_PROTECTED` error
- The error includes a link to this documentation

### Example API Error Response

```json
{
  "error": {
    "code": "DELETE_PROTECTED",
    "docs": "https://unkey.com/docs/api-reference/errors/code/DELETE_PROTECTED",
    "message": "api [apiId] is protected from deletions",
    "requestId": "req_1234"
  }
}
```

## Best Practices

1. **Enable for Production resources**: Always enable Delete Protection for resources in production
2. **Use for Critical resources**: Protect resources that contain important data or configurations
3. **Regular Review**: Periodically review protection status of your resources
4. **Team Communication**: Inform team members about protected resources
5. **Documentation**: Document which resources are protected and why

## Limitations

- Delete Protection only prevents deletion of the resource
- It does not prevent modifications to the resource
- It does not prevent deletion of children of a resource, like keys or ratelimits that belong to a protected resource
- Protection can be disabled by any user with appropriate permissions

## Related Errors

- [DELETE_PROTECTED](https://www.unkey.com/docs/api-reference/errors/code/DELETE_PROTECTED) - Returned when attempting to delete a protected API
